Indigenous leaders praise Downie as friend, ally

Indigenous leaders praised Gord Downie’s contribution to reconciliation as they mourned the musician’s death. Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said Wednesday he knew Downie’s death was coming but he said it is still incredibly sad to know he’s no longer alive.

In addition to the music he produced over the years, Downie will be remembered for his advocacy for Indigenous communities in the North and notably his project “Secret Path,’’ Fiddler said.

That solo project honoured 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 after running away from a residential school near Kenora, Ont.

“Gord often said he was struck by that story and he couldn’t let go of it,’’ Fiddler said in an interview. “He wanted to make it his mission to share that story with the rest of the country.’’

He also remembers when he was with Downie and Wenjack’s sister Pearl last fall in Marten Falls First Nation, in northern Ontario.

“Unlike the rock star on stage with his music, he was very quiet,’’ Fiddler said. “I think one of the things I’ve said about Gord is just how humble he was. He did his work with humility and respect.’’ Downie’s death is an “incredible loss to Canada,’’ Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said as she thanked him for the role he played in reconciliation. “He put it so rightly when he said we’ve got 150 years behind us to learn from and 150 years ahead of us and we better just get to work,’’ Bennett said on Parliament Hill. “I think Gord Downie will be with us as we do that work.’’

It was unbelievably important someone of Downie’s stature set an example for all Canadians, she added.

“It has really ... galvanized way more people to think that it is not somebody else’s problem,’’ Bennett said.

“I think that we know that as he goes to the spirit world, he will still guide us on this project of reconciliation which isn’t just for Indigenous people, that non-Indigenous people have a tremendous role to play as we come out of this dark chapter of colonization and racism.’’ Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde said Downie was “an ally and friend’’ and referred to him as the man who “Walks Among the Stars’’ — a name given to the singer in late 2016 at an emotional ceremony at a special chiefs assembly in Gatineau, Que.